Emmaus Life Sciences, a Torrance, Calif.-based developer of treatments and therapies for rare and orphan diseases, receives $30M debt investment from GPB Capital Holdings, LLC.
GPB Capital’s debt investment consists of a $30m senior secured convertible note with warrants, with $20m in proceeds delivered upfront and the remaining $10m to be released in two tranches during the second and third quarters of 2018, subject to Emmaus achieving set revenue targets.
The company intends to use the funds to expand its sales/marketing and research/development efforts associated with its commercial launch of Endari, as well as to refinance existing debt.
Founded in 2000 and led by Yutaka Niihara, MD, MPH, Chairman and CEO, Emmaus is advancing Endari™ (L-glutmamine oral powder), its prescription treatment for sickle cell disease (SCD), which was approved in 2017 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).The company also conducts tissue-engineering research with the goal of generating healthy cells in a lab environment using a patient’s own cells—which would eliminate the wait for tissue donors and reduce the risk of tissue rejection.